YOU get $120,000 just for taking part in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Same again for winning a round-robin match. Which means that Andy Murray, after beating Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday, is almost quarter of a million dollars, or £145,000, to the good.
If he beats Roger Federer in his second Group A match tonight, the world No 4 will enjoy another significant boost to his bank balance. For the event's first year at the O2, the tournament organisers have significantly increased the incentives for th
e leading players to compete at the end of another gruelling year, which is reflected in the fact there has been only one withdrawal – of Andy Roddick, and that through injury, not indifference.
In common with his colleagues, Murray will happily pocket the rewards of success, but when he takes to the court against Federer tonight that will be the last thing on his mind. "The money is just something that comes with playing tennis," he insisted. "The nerves you get walking out at Wimbledon, for example – they have nothing to do with money.
"When I'm serving for a match I'm nervous because I'm about to beat Nadal or Federer. It's never like, 'God, if I win this match I make an extra 80 grand'."
At 22, the Scot has already amassed a small fortune, but he has few if any expensive habits, and appears genuinely more interested in accumulating titles than cash. Claiming this one would not be quite the same as winning that elusive first Grand Slam, but it would be a fitting end to a year in which he has already won more titles than anyone else, as well as constituting a statement of intent for 2010.
Getting the better of Federer this evening would do no more in itself than take Murray a step closer to the semi-finals, but it would increase his record against the Wimbledon champion to seven wins out of ten meetings. It would also further enhance his belief that he has the tactical nous to get the better of his rivals – even those who have more formidable individual strengths. "I believe I've always been a very intelligent tennis player, and anyone who knows the sport would tell you that tactically I'm one of the best," he said. "I don't serve like Andy Roddick and I don't necessarily hit the ball as hard as Rafael Nadal. I have to find different ways of winning points, so I do it by changing the pace of the ball and using my head."
Murray's three-set win against Del Potro was an illustration of that approach, although in Federer he will come up against an opponent with a far more complete game than the world No5 from Argentina. Having said that, Federer was the first top competitor whom Murray learned to beat consistently.
The Swiss player won the last meeting between the two, in Cincinnati in August, but the Scot won at the round-robin stage of last year's tour finals when they were held in Shanghai, and has also been the victor on the two occasions besides Cincinnati in which they have met in 2009.
"Obviously I expect a difficult match," said Federer, who had to come from behind to beat Fernando Verdasco in his first match on Sunday. "Always fun playing your rivals. I think Andy has been one of the guys I played the most."
In fact, Federer has played four of the others here more often, so perhaps his encounters with Murray are simply more memorable. The one he recalls best – and perhaps most fondly, despite the result – is that match last year in China. "From Shanghai, I remember I was not going into the match with, let's say, the highest of hopes," he said of his 6-4, 6-7, 5-7 defeat. "I was sick two days before (and] I was injured three weeks before. So I just said to myself, 'You know what, I'll play aggressive and see what happens'. I was playing incredible for a set – almost got a victory. It was unfortunate for me not to come through, but I still think the match was great."
